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At the July 22, 2015 Montebello City Council meeting, Mayor Jack Hadjinian, Vice Mayor Art Barajas, Councilmember Christina Cortez and Councilmember Vivian Romero hastily voted to approve the controversial “2113 Whittier Blvd, LLC” housing development even though many serious question remain about the project.
The lone dissenting vote came from long-time Councilman Bill Molinari who questioned many aspects of the housing development, including inadequate guest parking and tandem only parking for residents.
The same four council members voted to recently to approve the massive 550-acre Cook Hill Montebello Hills housing project that opponents say poses serious health hazards.
2113 Whittier Blvd, LLC is an active California Corporation formed in 2010 and located at 326 S. Palm Dr. in Beverly Hills.
An internet search on the address shows that it is the address of a single family home.
2113 Whittier Blvd, LLC was granted a zone change from C-2 commercial to PD (Planned Development) to allow for construction of a new residential building. At issue for Councilmember Molinari and many community residents was the inconsistent and incomplete elements of the project application forwarded by the Montebello Planning Commission.
Sources are telling the Montebello News that the local Fire Marshall was “very concerned” about the water pressure in case of fire in the area and also that smaller units will be approved that are not allowed by the Montebello Building Code.
Under routine questioning from Councilmember Molinari, Montebello Planning Manager Matt Feske admitted that he was uncertain of the number of rental units and the number of stories for the project.
The developer, Jason Kashanian is the son of Sam Kashanian, both who also go by the last name of Kachan.
Sam is a wealthy Beverly Hills developer and textile magnet, and Jason is a recent law school graduate with little discernable experience building a large 50+ high-density housing project.
An internet search shows Jason Kachan an active member of the State Bar of California since 2013, with a website called kachanlawfirm.com; that website does not exist when you enter a search into Google.
At one point, Mr. Molinari said, “I’m looking at the applicant’s plan. We seem to have a floor floating around somewhere. We have a discrepancy here. It doesn’t add up.” He complained, “staff can’t even tell me how many floors there are.”
In addition, the controversial project was approved without Council being provided a copy of a second traffic and safety report.
Woman Involved in Montebello Restaurant Shooting Pleads Not Guilty
A 21-year-old woman pleaded not guilty today to charges stemming from a robbery at a Montebello restaurant, where her two alleged accomplices were shot to death by the eatery’s owner.
Toni Danielle Lopez is charged with one count each of attempted murder and receiving stolen property and two counts of second-degree robbery.
She initially was charged July 23 with murder in the deaths of Kevin Fierro, 23, and Roger Soriano, 21, but prosecutors dropped those charges after “further legal research determined the provocative act doctrine does not apply to this case,” according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Lopez allegedly was with Fierro and Soriano and saw the two men carjack a Toyota Camry in the 3600 block of West Whittier Boulevard July 17, according to prosecutors.
The three drove to a nearby restaurant in Montebello shortly after midnight, where Fierro and Soriano grabbed several items from the owner, prosecutors allege. Soriano allegedly pointed a gun at the man and shot him once, and the restaurant owner returned fire and killed Soriano.
Fierro tried to run away, but was shot once by the restaurant owner and died about a block away, according to prosecutors.
Lopez allegedly waited in a car outside the shooting scene and drove away.
She was arrested July 21.
She is due back in court Aug. 18 for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require her to stand trial.
If convicted as charged, she could face up to 15 years to life in state prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Wow that was very uninformative.
A development of unknown size and density is approved?
Who is financing the infrastructure upgrades? Is city liable bond being issued? Where is the new water coming from for these unknown number of units?
Will the acquisition of new water impact existing resident property owners water rates?
Then there’s the traffic and energy consumption requirements, from where another public rate payer supported solar farm?